consultation: bessie's girl-boy twins

(images: 1 - by Sayaka Minemura, 2 -by little flower school, 3 by Jutta of Kootut Murut, 4 by Bessie of Sisserman Sable,)

Since this is my last consultation for a long while, and I'm really going to miss doing them, I went a little overboard with suggestions. But maybe this family (and others) will benefit my need to over indulge a bit. 


Bessie, of Sisserman Sable, needs you to rally round to help her with the name-lover's ultimate dream: girl - boy twins!  


 Sister-brother twins are being welcomed by siblings:

William Sorrel Vermont  

Stella Primrose Plum

Phoebe Ottoline Nell

Lowe Ivy Moonstone

  

Bessie writes:

-- " My philosophy for names is to use something simple and straightforward for the First Name, and then party-in-the-back for the Middle. We need help creating combinations of names that work not only together but with our other childrens'. Here are some names we like:

Girls: 

Agnes  

Olive

 Edith 

Helena

Eleanor 

Julia

Cleo 

Tess 

Elle 

Luna 

Lyra 

Hera 

and for baby boy we think we've found *the* name:

Rupert 

For Middles, I spotted Honey-Myrtle on your site and we both really like it. And also Pear as a middle name is awesome. 

Finnally, there are a few ideas we'd like to represent:

- My Finnish Heritage. For these two babies I'd like at least one to have something to do with Finland or Summer {I used to spend summers with my grandparents in finland}.(Ed. Bessie wrote a beautiful post on her childhood summers in Finland, and this will guide some of my suggestions)

- Lots of Flowers/Plants! As you can see from my children's names we have tried to include nature into their names. My mother was a florist and she is one of my favorite people, so I like to think we are honoring her by giving our children flower related names.

 - Anything to do with Family and Sibling bonds!

- Lastly, our family is about to embark on a new 'journey' we are moving and creating a whole new life for our selves so any names representing spring and a new beginning are welcomed suggestions."  

                ************************************ 

Bessie, I love the names of your children! And this is one of the funnest naming challenges I've ever been part of. Congratulations, and thank you for bringing your quest our way! 

Since Bessie and I have spent some time discussing our tastes, and we have such similarities in our naming styles, I'm going with many of my personal favorites here today (extra fun!)

Baby girl:

UPFRONT NAMES: 

From your list, I most love Agnes, Edith and Olive. You can't go wrong with any of them. 

Additionally, I think the following would be nice considerations for their consonant endings, syllable-balance, or harmony of meaning with the siblings' names:

Jane -- I would so love to see her hyphenated with something Finnish. You mentioned that you guys really like Sisko. I'm particularly fond of 
Jane-Sisko Rosalie. 

Miriam 'Mim' -- I am just going to keep suggesting her until someone grabs her up, but truly, this is a stunner with your bunch.

Mildred 

Artemis -- this is another that I'll just keep on suggesting, but it's particularly cozy in your family with it's roots, meanings and three syllables. Artemis and Rupert? yep.  

Berenice

Claudine -- Remember, there's debate on the meaning; not everyone thinks it means 'lame'. This is another that I suggest frequently, and she fits in so well here. 


Clemence


Cypress -- you could always save her for a middle slot, but I think she works well upfront, too, and offers something of a bridge between Lo and the rest. 

Fernandine 'Fern' ("adventuresome journey")(pronunciation) 

Gladys -- really love her for you. 

Helen -- If Helena's ending is too similar to sister Stella's, I think Helen is a great choice. Helen Honey-Myrtle (or Honey-Rose)is alliterative, which I know you fancy, and her seriousness balances the playfulness of the middle name you both like so much.


Hesper -- Do you like that she matches sister Stella's "star" or is this off-putting? 

Maude


Malgosia -- if not upfront, then a nice middle for her many syllables. Malgosia Omena Jane has a nice flow. 

Sigrid 

Tabitha

Opal  -- especially if born in June! and she ties to Lo's Moonstone.

Pearl

Beryl

FINNISH NAMES for one of her middle names -- I love the idea of hyphenating Finnish nature names for the middle. And many of these are good on either gender, as well: 

Ilta (evening)

Tähti(star)


Suvi(summer) 


Kulta (gold)


Apila (clover)


Helmi (pearl)


Totta (true)


Laulu (song)


Runo (poem)


Satu (fairytale)


Satka (goddess of the sea)


Tuli (fire)


Valoisa (bright)


Pilvi (cloud)


Omena (apple)-- 


Lintu (bird, birdie)


Sulka - feather


Sisko (sister)


NATURE NAMES for a middle spot(these are my favorites for your family. I included non-plants/flowers for the ties they bring to other siblings):
Bloom


Clove

Egret 


Anemone


Gardenia


Mum


Zinnia


Forsythia


Meadowlark -- Oh man, do I love Miriam Meadowlark.


Nettle


Rosalie -- would be so great in there, with her three syllables, R connection to Rupert, flower connection, etc.


Rosevine


Swan


Sun -- my favorite combo right now is Sun-Margaret -- please someone use this in the middle. For you guys, I love Tabitha Sun Margaret 'Totta'(Finnish for "truth".) 


Sundew -- this pretty little flower sounds more adventuresome than most.

SIBLING/FAMILY BONDS NAMES:

Sisko (sister)

Adelpha (sister)

Pleiade (group of stars named after the "seven sisters" from Greek mythology) 

Merope (one of the aforementioned seven sisters)

Alcyone (one of the aforementioned seven sisters)

Ruth (companion/friend)

Thomasina (twin) **I would so consider this for a first name.  She can go by 'Totta' or 'Tess'!

NEW/SPRING/JOURNEY NAMES:
Beatrice (life voyager/blessed)


Dagny (new day)

Fernanda or Ferdinande (adventuresome journey)

Neoma (new moon)


Nova (new)




Baby boy:


UPFRONT NAMES (just in case Rupert doesn't work when you meet him, which you noted as a possibility):


Augustine 


Cassius


Claude


Crocus


Fergus 


Frederick


Gaspard


Junius


Sigmund




FINNISH NAMES for a middle spot: 

Veli (brother)

Talvi (winter) -- could be neat to have sister be summery and brother be winter?

Toivo (hope)

Kivi (stone)

Kielo (lily of the valley)

Jalo (noble)

Turi (god of the honey land)

Hirsi (timber)

Myrsky (storm)

Vuori (mountain)

Järvi (lake) -- I really think this would be special for you.

Metsä (forrest)

Setri (cedar)

NATURE NAMES for a middle spot:

Cotton

Carnelian  

Cedar -- ties to brother's a bit. Rupert Cedar Swan is lovely if you love that much nature, which I know you do! I also like Rupert Cedar Augustine.

Crocus --  Rupert Frederick Crocus or Rupert Crocus Constantine are nice. 

Evergreen -- Rupert 

Fig -- Rupert Junius Fig


Fieldfare 


Hickory

Oriole

Pear -- you're right, this is a beautiful middle name. I have a Swedish male neighbor wearing it, too. 


Aves -- bird natured

Rustylark 

Swan -- ties to sister Phoebe's bird appellation, and is also the national bird of Finland. I love Rupert Swan.

Whimbrel

Thistle 


Vine

SIBLING/FAMILY BONDS NAMES:

Adelphe (brother)

Veli (brother)

Pollux (twin)

Bonamy (good friend)

Gladwin (light hearted friend)

NEW/SPRING/JOURNEY NAMES:

Ferdinand (adventuresome traveler)

Neville  (new village)


Spring


Rothwell (red spring)-- not the season, itself, but sure brings it to mind. 

 Here are my favorite combos for you (because I just can't resist doing this), though Bessie-made mashups of these and other names will likely be better tailored to your unique tastes, of course. (boy's name first b/c we know it already):

Rupert Kielo Ferdinand   and    Miriam Suvi Gardenia 'Mim'

Rupert Rothwell Swan     and    Edith Rosalie Lintu 

Rupert Barnaby Crocus    and    Artemis Ilta Maude 

Rupert Frederick Myrsky  and    Cypress Omena Ruth   

Rupert Cedar Vuori       and    Hesper Valoisa Sundew  

Rupert Setri Swan        and    Helen Omena Bloom  


Rupert Veli Pear         and    Jane-Sisko Rosalie  


Rupert Jarvi Fieldfare   and    Suvi Gardenia Maude 


Rupert Hickory Claude    and    Gladys Tahti Fernadine 


Rupert Junius Toivo      and    Sigrid Sun Margaret


Rupert Kivi Ferdinand    and    Opal Omena Lou


Rupert Gladwin Evergreen and    Eleanor Mëtsa Mum

Rupert Bonamy Swan       and    Omena Mildred Sundew

Rupert Veli Balthasar    and    Agnes Anemone Sisko  

Rupert Adelphe Fig       and    Thomasina Honey-Rose 'Totta' or                   


                                'Tess' (though if she goes by  


                                'Tess', you'll want to get a 


                                Finnish middle name in there - 


                                Thomasina Kielo Swan or Thomasina         
               
                                Tuli Rosamond?)

Additionally, Bessie, stay tuned for my next post -- it will be the last in my Finnish names series and will be comprised of more Finnish nature names. It will also suggest a way of organizing the three names you select so that they're in keeping with Finnish naming practices!   

Readers, I'm sure you can see beautiful, clever pairings that I didn't, or come up with even more names. What names or name combinations from Bessie's required categories do you like for this family? Which would you pick for yourselves?  Thank you! 

dfm names

Over the last several weeks I've featured seven blogs on Design for Mankind. This week I want to talk about the names associated with them (in order of appearance). 

Blog Oeuvre (pronounced You-ver, Uh-vruh, Ew-vra, or simply Erve. such debate on this!) certainly has a beautiful meaning and sound, if you can get beyond it's role in Hors D'oeuvre.  It's pure genius as a blog title. 

Leslie Williamson's new blog for The New York Times, People Watching, focused first on Charles Bello. I'm fond of both his names right up front for little boys.  And yes, I have a post in the works to talk about all the delightful names throughout Leslie's beautiful book, Handcrafted Modern. 

 Krickelin is a lifestyle blog, which as we learn on Dos Family, documents lots of beautiful moments for one very well-named bunch: Kristin, Jonas, Simon, and Otto.

Tigers to Lilies (found via Jaime) is run by Lili (a florist named Lili!) and is another genius blog title. Of course, it brings names Tiger, Lili and Tigerlily, but reminds me of even more smooshes and double names. You all know how I feel about a Lily smoosh, but here are some yet to be featured here (along with a few that have): Panther-Lily, Daylily, Snowlily, Riverlily, Meadow-Lily, Woodlily, Fire-lily, Starlily, Low-Lily, Morninglily, and Easter-Lily.  (smooshing or hyphenation is up to user, right?)

Floret, run by Erin (found via Amy) is of course so apt for Erin's organic family flower farm and design studio, but might be nice on the human variety, too. It calls Flora to mind, as well.

After Tokyo DIY Gardening fills me with dreams of growing a garden on my roof and walls, it renders my mind completely captive to Japanese plant names. Some of my favorites for today: Niwa (garden), Misaki (beautiful bloom), Yuri (lily), Reika (lovely petal), Ruka (blue flower), and of course, the very straight forward and English Garden.

Fox Fodder Farm. Oh Brooklyn, you're at it again with awesomeness. Fox is an increasingly popular name for people, and this is just such a fantastic name for a floral design business! (photo by Rory Gunderson)

Oeuvre

Charles

Bello

Kristin

Jonas 

Simon

Otto


Tiger


Lili 


Tigerlily


Panther-Lily


 Daylily


Snowlily


Riverlily


Meadow-Lily


Woodlily


Fire-lily


Starlily


Low-Lily


Morninglily 


 Easter-Lily


Floret


Flora


Niwa


Misaki


Yuri


Reika


Ruka


Garden


Fox

(images: one by Oeuvre, two by Leslie Williamson, three by Krickelin, four courtesy Lili, five courtesy Erin of Floret, six courtesy Tokyo DIY Gardening, seven by Rory Gunderson - courtesy Fox Fodder Farm and Wilder Quarterly Journal. Each image is property and © of each cited owner. all linked to above.)

a new elsewhere

I promised more Finnish blogs today, I know.  And I won't really disappoint, but they aren't here at Marginamia.

I'm posting over at Design for Mankind today.

And?

 I'll be teaming up with the lovely Erin Loechner every other Thursday sharing inspiring blogs from all corners of the earth!  I'm so unbelievably excited to join the creative team at Design for Mankind.

I'll be back here at marginamia next week with the full list of Finnish names I promised to run alongside the blogs (here are posts one, two and three of the current series I'm running on the names, blogs and design of Finland).

See you all next week!

(image via design for mankind)

finnish names - part three

These three beautiful images come to us from a Finnish blog, run by Satu Palander--author, photographer and curator. 

bamarik, run by Outi, "an active seeker, interested in life, nature, people and adventures", is a must visit.

finlandia, run by Essi, is a "frame of mind and a collection of photographs".  I'm envious of all the mushroom hunts.

lumetta, run by Ritva, who loves "snow and silence, old and worn out things",  is so pretty.  Visit and get your snow fix if you're missing pretty fluffs this year in your neck of the woods. 

himalainen --  so pretty.

Varpunen ('sparrow') is run by Suki, mom to Varpu ('twig').  Don't these names sound so nice together? 

 Road Trip in Finland -- lots of design, lots of Finland. 

Yes, today I'm turning to the more modern in both entertainment and names: blogs and word names. There are a host of lovely Finnish blogs to please your senses, and some to get you thinking, as well.  When my first post in this series was included on a Finnish society and culture page on ScoopIt (curated by Ulla Saikku), I immediately began checking out all of the great sources there. I loved this article, in particular, on the successes of the Finnish education system.   

The beauty that abounds in the Finnish blogosphere is vast.  It's so vast, in fact, that there will be one more post on Finnish blogs and word names to follow this one! 

In addition to those pictured above, here are some more Finnish blogs for our first collection of links:

manteli --a mother and fantastic photographer is serving up slices of life. If snow, craft projects and wide-planked wooden floors are what you're craving, fill up your plate here.

Maaman Uuni --mother of six (no, I don't know their names!) and finder of pretty pictures and words.

minulta (formerly chocolate circus)--a portrait of a beautiful Finnish family life and stunning images.
I'm smitten with this home. 

oh! the light today --so pretty and fun to read.

Lehmuskujala --pretty images and even music.

VIA --run by artist and mother Liivia. I've long had her images amongst my flickr favorites, but only just recently have I discovered her accompanying blog, much to my happy surprise. Her traveling lifestyle with her sweet little girl will fuel your wanderlust.

In keeping with the more modern, I turn now to word names.  Here are some Finnish words that sound very much like names to my ear. Please correct me if I've gotten something wrong, and thank you in advance:

the virtuous and spiritual:
Aito (true/ genuine)

Autuus (bliss)

Halu (wish/desire)

Henki (spirit)

Ilo (joy)

Kappeli (chapel)

Koti (home)

Ohimo (temple)

Onni (fortune/luck)

Osa (fate / destiny)

Rauha (peace)

Sisko (sister)

Sivi (chase)

Toivoa (hope) (verb)

Toivo (hope) (noun)

Tosi and Totta (true)

Unelma ( dream/ day dream)

Usko (faith)

Uusi (new)

Veli (brother)

Ykseys (unity)

trade and craft:

Kutoja (weaver)

Lanka (yarn)

Merimies (sailor)

Mylläri (miller)

Neula (needle)

Ommel (stitch)

Seppo (smith)

Vasara (hammer)

the musical:
Balladi (ballad)

Harppu (harp)

Kello (bell)

Kantel (the national instrument and part of the ballads used for kalevala)

Laulu (song)

Laulelma (tune/ditty)

Sointu (chime or note)

the literary:
Eepos (an epic)

Kertova ( an epic narrative)

Runo (poem)

Satu (fairytale)

Tarina (tale, story)

Taru (story, great myth)

and from today's bloggers (all female):
Satu


Outi


Essi


Ritva


Suki


Varpu


Ulla


Livia 

I hope you will savor the links and names over the coming months. My intention is always for each post to be something to return to, rather than something to digest all at once (thus the tidy archives, so you can put it out of your mind and know it's bookmarked here for you, so there's never a need for mad link clicking and speedy viewing). Still, I hope the list doesn't overwhelm, just the same. 

Any favorite Finnish blogs of your own?

Up next in the series: more blogs, word names, nature names, and naming practices. 

Happy week!